TEHRAN Experts talking to the TEHRAN TIMES assessed the two-day Tehran conference on solidarity with Palestinians and in support of the Intifada as a great success. The conference, which ended its work last night by issuing a written declaration, was sponsored by the Islamic Republic's Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis), with MP Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour acting as its secretary general.

The conference gave hope and assurance to the Muslim people throughout the world that through creation of a united front, they can resist the U.S. hegemony and take more effective measures to support the oppressed Palestinians in their struggle against the Zionist occupiers. In fact, the Tehran Conference Declaration was a manifesto of unity among all Islamic nations.

Talking to the TEHRAN TIMES, Seyed Aziz Pasha, secretary general of the Union of Muslim Organizations of the UK and Ireland, assessed the conference as important, saying the conference came at a very historic time. He further said, "The Palestinian Intifada has been going on for the past seven months and there has been a tremendous amount of sacrifice made by the Palestinian people and this needs to be supported by the Muslim ummah throughout the world."

"Therefore, this conference was aimed at mobilizing the support of the Muslim ummah and bringing home the reality that it is the holy Al-Aqsa Masjid (Mosque) that is important.

"I was very impressed by the speech of the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah (Ali) Khamenei, who said that unity between Muslims is of the highest importance. Without unity we can't achieve anything. Even our enemies are getting bolder because they see that Muslims are not united. So this is the main element of this conference, and I hope it will bring together all the opinions and resources of all Muslim countries toward the liberation of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque and toward supporting the rights of the Palestinian people.

Asked to evaluate the conference, Pasha said, "The situation is critical at the moment. Because there is one superpower called the United States, which is fully supporting the Zionists, and the Muslim countries don't have an institution by which they can organize a united army to defend the rights of their people. So my suggestion will be that it's time for the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which was formed 31 years ago, to relaunch. The OIC is not economically and politically integrated. With economic and political integration it is possible to organize a standing army comprised of people from all over the Muslim world who are ready to defend the rights of Muslims throughout the world."

Commenting on U.S. claims of defending human rights while ignoring them in the case of the Intifada, he said, "This double-standard policy is being pursued by all superpowers, the Security Council and everywhere else. They use one yardstick for one situation and another yardstick for another case. Here is a very clear violation of the Palestinian's human rights according to the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

Also talking to the TEHRAN TIMES, Jovo Susilo, vice chairman for the Indonesian Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Group, said, "I think this conference is very good and the aim of supporting the Palestinian Intifada is very encouraging for us (Indonesians)."

Commenting on the influence of the conference on the Intifada, he said, "I do believe that it will strengthen the solidarity with the Palestinian people, but also will reawaken hope that the struggle to liberate Palestine will be supported by international community."

Also commenting on the human rights violations, the Indonesian official said that he condemned the double-standard policy of the United States in terms of human rights. "It is very obvious that Israelis have repeatedly violated the human rights of the Palestinian people and this is what we have to deal with in the international community and we have to condemn it and fight for human rights."

He also said he believed that the Intifada would succeed in the long run.

Meanwhile, Khalid Omar Said al-Marhoon, a member of the Majles Shura of Oman, told the TEHRAN TIMES reporter that it was a good step for Iran to sponsor this conference.

"Iran has always played a very important role in the area and especially in supporting Islamic issues like the Intifada. We believe that the Iranian government will continue to play this role in other matters which concern the world of Islam.

Evaluating the conference, Al-Marhoon said, "This conference has been very successful and it is a good and new idea to support the Palestinians with the participation of all the parties. It's a good step to unite these people and the Islamic Republic of Iran has done a great thing.

He said that he thought that the conference would have a great impact on the world. "I think all the Islamic world is participating in this conference, and once the people in the rest of the world see and hear that the whole Islamic world is united on this issue, it a beneficial politically for the Palestinians.

Another participant, Mohamed Yousuf Mohamed al-Sayed, talking to the TEHRAN TIMES also praised the conference saying that the conference would be valuable for the Palestinian Intifada since all Muslim people are gathered here.

The member of the Consultative Council of Bahrain said that the conference's resolution would be of great importance.

"I think the Intifada is for the rights of the Palestinian people, and once their rights are given to them, the Intifada has come to an end. I think the Intifada will continue in different conditions and situations but will not stop till the Palestinians gain their rights and establish their government and state," he said.

Also talking to the TEHRAN TIMES, former OIC secretary general Ezzeddin Laraki said that the conference was a success. "It was very useful and complete. It shows that people, not just governments, are supporting the Intifada.

"I am very optimistic about the future of the Intifada, because in some similar situations where people took matters into their own hands, they were successful.

"Arabs should support the Intifada by all means, politically and diplomatically and financially and mainly by the media. We should spend a lot of money for media in order to encourage people who are not Arab and Muslim to support our action."

In the meantime, Ali Ghareh Daghi, Head of the Fiqh and Sharia Section of Qatar University told the TEHRAN TIMES that this conference, which gathers all governments, politicians, thinkers and parliamentarians of the world of Islam, can be very effective and influential. "And if it more practically supports the Palestinian Intifada, then humanitarian and financial aid will increase."

He said that the Intifada discredited the United States and its double-standard policies of claiming to be human rights supporters while supporting the atrocities of the Zionist regime. Not only in the case of the Palestinian people, but also in other countries in which Muslim people were suffering, like Kosovo and Chechnya, the U.S. carried out its double-standard policy. This Intifada has scandalized those who claim to be human rights supporters, the U.S. in particular.

The Intifada signifies the failure of efforts aimed at forcing the surrender of the Palestinians after the Oslo and Madrid accords. In order to regain their rights and their homeland, Palestinians had no choice other than the Intifada.